management firm

Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corpora- tion (SLIMTC) forecasts the growth of the Philippine economy to remain robust expanding by 5.35 percent this year amid the base effects and external headwinds.

In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, SLIMTC president and chief investment officer Michael Enriquez said consumer spending, especially on non-food items, will help drive economic growth this year.

“We continue to expect consumer growth to be very robust especially now for the non-food spending like services and other things that we were not able to do back during the pandemic,” he said.

Enriquez said tourism particularly is driving the sector amid the large numbers of foreign tourist from China, among others, before the pandemic.

He said boosting the economy are the expectations for a possible cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) and the pause in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) rate hiking cycle possibly until the end of 2023 due in part to the deceleration of inflation rate.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) forged an agreement here Wednesday with the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to boost Mindanao’s tourism industry.

Inflation rate decelerated further to 6.6 percent last April after hitting 8.7 percent last January, the highest in 14 years.

SLIMTC forecasts inflation’s mid-point this year at 5 percent, lower than the central bank’s average inflation forecast of 5.5 percent.

Stabilization of domestic inflation rate and cuts in the central bank’s key rates are seen to benefit the peso, which is projected to register a mid-point of 55-level against the US dollar, and the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), which is forecasts to hit its fundamental level of 7,775 points.

Enriquez said local shares are now more attractive given the stable currency, lower pressures on the peso given the more stable monetary policy spreads, drop in foreign ownership in the local bourse, and valuations that are closer to the low levels during the global financial crisis.

“There’s a lot of room for the equity market to start recovering,” he said, adding that emerging market equities now have the cheapest valuation but have a big

DOT Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the partner government agencies is in line with the vision of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to develop Mindanao through tourism.

Frasco said Mindanao has many things to offer to tourists, both foreign and domestic, since it is rich in natural resources and cultural heritage.

“This (Mindanao) is a land of promise, a land of diversity and rich cultural heritage,” Frasco said in an interview here.

For his part, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. called on local government units to formulate their tourism plans and collaborate with concerned stakeholders in promoting tourism developmental projects. Abalos said they will train more tourist police to be deployed in tourist destinations.

“Through this convergence, the DILG commits to ensuring that our local policemen are properly deployed in tourist destinations,” he said.

The DND, represented by Undersecretary Angelito De Leon, has also vowed to prioritize the safety and security of tourists and assist in facilitating stakeholders’ involvement in tourism development projects.

FDOT, P10